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H. E. JAMES.

STORE FRONT CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION mso Mums. 191s.

Patented Nov. 4, 1919.

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Application ledMarch 19,1918. `Serial No.u223,285. f

- citizen'` of` the UnitedStates,.residing at St. f

Paul, in the county of Ramsey and `State of; Minnesota, .have invented anew and useful 4Improvement in `Store-Front Construction,

of which the following is a specification.

This .innenti'onrelates to, store front con- .i struction, the,primarypobject being to pro- Y vide more substantial; construction 1nwhichf .a free and more, efficient circula-tion of air is permitted`over theinner surface of the a lass inwhiclr royision is made for. moreeffectively draining water produced by con` ;l densation on the` inner4side ,of the window'` a. glass or fromA the washing ofthe glass, and`finwhich the constructioncan be more easily.. .cleaned than .in priordevices. Among fur# ..:ther,ob]ects are to'provlde a construction,y

in .which thefplate of glass can vmore easilyand more effectively be'secured in place and by the use of which the sash is renderedsubstantially weatherproof. Still further objects are greater simplicityand less expensive construction and the provision of means whereby theair duct or ducts may be closedy1 or opened wide when desired. In priordevices these objects are attained to a less degree than by myinvention, but they are very difficult to clean. This objection isentirely overcome by my invention.

To these ends my invention comprises the features of construction andcombination of parts hereinafter more particularly described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, Figure 1is a front elevation of a detail of a store front constructed inaccordance with my invention, and Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on theline X-X of Fig. l.

In the drawing let A indicate a detail of the sill or base of a windowusash, case or store front, B the ioor of such window or case and C theusual glass plate. D indicates a gutter element at the inner side of`said plate preferably made of a body strip 2 of wood or other suitablematerial having a thin metal dieathing 3 over its exterior extendingover the top and opposite sides. This gutter element is formed with aconcave upper surface 4, which produces a gutter and the plate C restswith the lower portion of its inner surface against one side of thegutter element, being pressed tightly so that any condensation or waterrunning wdown the inner. face -of the plate flows. into the.: gutter.lThe` gutterv element. yis mounted securely upon thefloor` element B andis provided. with, any suitable. number of combined. air yandVentilating .ducts E, `which lead downwardly at.spaced intervals or atany suitable point from: the. gutter through the body strip 2 andinclined forwardly and downwardly` through 4theloor B .and sill A, itslower ,end terminating -and-.opening to the `outer atmosphere throughthe front orcuter. wall of ther sill. The lower edge of the` `glass.plate C. restsoupon a cushion strip .5 made of wood or .other suitablematerial. A thin sheathing 6 made of metal crnothersuitable .material is`placed .over the frontsurfaceand top of the floor B toprotectthe.latter from the elements, saidsheathing being bentat.- right angles orotherwise shaped to coverthe front 7 "and exposed` portion of the top8,` the upper in- ,neredge l0 of said sheathing :beingbent uplwardly. atright angles to engage back ofthe lower front side 9 of the sheathing 3on the gutter element `and interlocking therewith. The upper portion ofthe sheathing 6 extends below the cushion strip 5 and the upturnedflange 10 prevents any water which may drip down or flow under the plate7 iiowing or creeping back over the floor B and below the gutter strip.The lower outer extremity of the sheathing 6 extends downwardly belowthe floor and then upwardly and inwardly, so as to form a drip edge 11to prevent water from flowing back under the floor B. The plate C issecured in place on the cushioning strip 5 and against the gutterelement by means of the molding strip F, which is of skeleton form beingmade out of thin sheet metal and secured tightly upon the floor andagainst the lower outer edge of the plate and the outer face of thecushioning strip 5 by means of screws 12 or other suitable means passingdownwardly through the molding element and into the floor. Each of thecombined drain and Ventilating ducts is produced by a casting of metalor a piece of other suitable material, which diverges downwardly andoutwardly so as to produce a free passage for any liquid iiowing downfrom the gutter to the exterior. This duct is broad as compared with itsthickness so as to provide greater arca for the egress of liquid fromthe inner surface of the plate and its upper end is closely joined at 13to the sheathing lmeans thi'eaded into the structure of the duct E toclose the duet when desired. Normally when it is desired to circulateair up over the inner surface of the plate C, the closure element 15 isremoved, but during extremely cold `Weather or when it is desired toprevent an excess of air circulation, the closure element can bearranged and secured over the outer end of the duct. IVhen the duct isclosed in the manner as stated, any condensation or liquid ii'owing downthrough the duct is free to escape through drainage passages 17 in thelower extremity of the duct and in the front surface of the sill.

It will be noted that all of the exposed surfaces of the iioor, gutter,molding strip and duct are protected by metal and protect the woodenparts from water and moisture y to prevent decay. In operation a clear,free and large passage is provided by the duct to promote a live andeiiicient circulation of air up over the inner surface of the glassplate to prevent moisture and frost collecting and Water fromcondensation and washing is readily drained outside from the gutter. Theconstruction is inexpensive, simple and easily applied for use and theglass plate readily secured permanently in place. In accordance with thepatent statutes I have described the principles of operation of myinvention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to representthe best embodiment thereof, but I desire to have it understood that theconstruction shown is only illustrative, and that the invention can becarried out by Vother means and applied to uses other than those aboveset forth within the scope of the following claim.

Having described my invention, what I .claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is In a construction of the character setforth, the combination of a window casing floor, a gutter above saidfloor, a glass plate resting edgewise above said iioor and against saidgutter, means for securing said plate in said position, a duct leadingdown from saidL gutter and terminating forl' wardly below said floor,for the purposes set forth, and a cover detachably secured over thelower outer end of said duct, the wall of said duct being formed with avent around `said cover to the outer atmosphere.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

HARRY E. JAMES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

